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AP study says making corn-based ethanol badly hurting the environment

GasBuddy Blog
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An investigation by the AP into corn-based ethanol is drawing much attention lately: from motorists who are required to partake in the program due to the RFS law, and ethanol producers who's livelihood is at stake.

The AP's story:

The hills of southern Iowa bear the scars of America's push for green energy: The brown gashes where rain has washed away the soil. The polluted streams that dump fertilizer into the water supply.

Even the cemetery that disappeared like an apparition into a cornfield.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

With the Iowa political caucuses on the horizon in 2007, presidential candidate Barack Obama made homegrown corn a centerpiece of his plan to slow global warming...

"yeah right, good trade-off: only republicans can see the sense of burning corn as fuel and eating oil as food."

Your short lesson in geo-politics. Iowa has TWO senators, just like every other state. Grassley (R) and Harkin (D). BOTH support corn into ethanol. Its about the money. Money makes the gray mare run...

Yea and Bush signing not one but two ethanol mandates into law(2005-2007)had nothing at all to do with slowing the economy down,and neither did his and Cheney's invasion of Iraq.So vote republican for some reason?

I live in a rural part of corn country. I'm not a farmer but several friends and neighbors are. 15-20 years ago (even 5 years ago) Ethanol was thought to be a great new market for corn growers and would help with the oil problem. But it hasn't really been necessary for corn growers as there's already a good solid market for all the corn by-products in all the processed food. So it's not really helping there. And while newer cars have been engineered to handle ethanol fuels better than cars from the 60s 70s, 80s and 90s could there's a definite tradeoff in MPG when you start diluting your oil-based fuel with ethanol. Even my farmer neighbors will admit to that.

Stop ethanol as it has had a huge effect on food costs. Three years ago a dozen ears of corn cost $3 at any summer farm stand. This year everybody was $5. Not effecting food yea right. The weather was great in our area for growing it so weather was not a factor like three years ago. ethanol sucks in my gas get it out.

Old, there is also another study that reflect the real fuel cost of the ethanol. It takes more fuel to make E10 - E85 than what we actually saving if any. The ratio was 1.5 gal of gas for every 1 gal of Ethanol.

Switch to sugarcane ethanol like Brazil. Shell oil already has switched some of it's refining according to commercials, but don't where that fuel mix is being sold. Corn is for humans to eat, not cattle or gas.